Disaster Law Commons^™

Caesar’S Gambit: Coherence, Justification Of Legal Rules, And The Duty Test: Towards An Interactional Theory Of Government Liability For Negligence In Disaster Management, Irehobhude O. Iyioha

Dalhousie Law Journal

This article examines barriers posed by the duty of care test for government liability for negligence in disaster management. It argues that various aspects of the test raise concerns about coherence, legitimacy of judicial decision-making, and ultimately how we justify liability in tort law. In examining the coherence of the duty test through multiple prisms, including through theoretical justifications for tort principles, this article contends that the duty test, in its framing and interpretations, fails to meet the formal and substantive demands of coherence, correctness and legitimacy. Arguing that justificatory theories offer necessary theoretical lenses through which to understand, critique, …

Call For Inputs: Climate Change And Human Rights: A Safe Climate, Sara L. Seck, Lisa Benjamin

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

There is now global agreement that human rights norms apply to the full spectrum of environmental issues, including climate change. The previous Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment, Mr. John Knox, developed Framework Principles on Human Rights and the Environment that set forth three sets of duties that engage both States and businesses: procedural obligations; substantive obligations; and obligations relating to those in vulnerable situations.

The current Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment, Mr. David Boyd, is working to provide additional clarity regarding the substantive obligations relating to a range of elements that are essential to …

Justified Outbreak: Bringing Together Law, Public Health, And Ethics During An Infectious Disease Emergency, Clark Colwell

LLM Theses

Infectious diseases have recently found renewed significance in Canadian scholarship, with a corresponding increased interest in Canada's overall preparedness, including legal preparedness, to combat infectious disease emergencies. Nearly every Canadian province has emergency legislation containing a "basket clause" - a provision which, for the duration of an emergency, authorizes a decision maker to take 'all necessary measures' to defeat it. Public health legal preparedness scholarship has not yet examined what criteria the decision maker must consider before deciding to deploy measures that could seriously impact the rights of individuals, including those under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. This …